D&D 5E Running Murder in Baldur's Gate in Dark Sun

[darkbard]

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE ADVENTURE Murder in Baldur's Gate. Read ahead at your own risk!

I read the D&D Next adventures Murder in Baldur's Gate and Legacy of the Crystal Shard when they were released and was very impressed by the (1) structure and (2) presentation of a dynamic world both presented, but I never got a chance to run them. Lately, I've been thinking about how the former might make a very interesting entree into the political upheaval and machinations of post-assassination (of the Sorcerer-King Kalak of) Tyr in Dark Sun, with some alterations, of course, so I'm looking to bounce some ideas around.

I should note that I play 4E and presume the setting adheres to what is presented in the 4E DSCG, though that should make little if any difference since what I'm addressing here and looking for feedback regarding are plot elements.

My thought is that the target of the opening assassination scene (Duke Abdel Adrian in the original) is Rikus, the mul gladiator and champion of the people who inflicted a fatal wound to the Sorcerer-King Kalak and now serves as part of the City Council to King Tithian and leader of the Crimson Legion. His assassination is attempted by a member of The True, a secretive group loyal to the former Sorcerer-King that believes in his eventual return. Justifying the transformation of the loser into the Bhaalspawn Slayer is simple enough: when Rikus wounded Kalak, a portion of the latter's life force was transfered into the gladiator; if it's Rikus who dies, this essence is freed, engendering the transformation; if it's the assassin, the life force is still freed, but it warps the agent of its release rather than its captor. (I am thinking of using the 1st level solo monster Id Fiend mechanically in this scene as the Bhaalspawn Slayer.)

As to the three patrons, I think Jossi the Juggler makes a fine substitution for Rilsa Rael (with Shivrin, the half-elf leader of Tyr's freed slaves as her superior within Tyr's Eyes, replacing Nine-Fingers and The Guild, another easy subsitition); Neeva, a human ex-gladiator and former arena partner to Rikus, makes a logical replacement for Ulder Ravengard, making her motivations for revenge even more personally motivated--this also slots her in nicely to replace Rikus as leader of the Crimson Legion; finally, any leading noble, though Shoshana Beryl jumps to mind, can replace Torlin Silvershield, as the nobility look to curtail any democratic uprisings among the newly freed slaves and general populace of Tyr.

Sadira, the half-elf former slave and sorcerer and secret member of the Veiled Alliance, can replace Coran as a possible source of information and alternative patron to the PCs.

Now, all this conjectured and my having read various threads about some of the pitfalls of the middle parts of the adventure, I am curious what changes others might make to the adventure to cut out the less exciting or less logically connected filler scenes between the opening presented above and the final stages of the adventure, where violence and chaos come to a head. The smokepowder plot seems a bit out-of-place for Dark Sun, so that likely needs some alteration. Tyr does have city walls that separate the populace from the privilege that rankles the underclass, but those walls do not exist between the nobles and commoners but rather between the nobles and commoners together on one hand and the bureaucratic and police agent Templars of the King on the other.

In any event, if you've played the adventure (or, better yet, considered such a conversion), what elements do you view as essential to retain or alter given what I have presented here?

(As a side note, one of the motivating factors of a Druid character in our group is eventually to gain access to the King's Gardens, a rare landscape of greenery behind the walls of the city-within-a-city that is the refuge of the Templars. The longterm story arc for this character involves receiving a map which brought her to Tyr in the first place, with the goal of gaining admittance to these gardens, wherein lies the next piece of the puzzle in her quest to restore some life from Athas's previous ages to the Burnt World. Thus, any plot elements dealing with the Golden City of the Templars need to be the fruit of the adventure's arc, not among its stages.)

Thanks in advance for any ideas or input you may have!

 

[CapnZapp]

General thoughts on those two D&D Next adventures:

- their level range comes across as very mismatched. I would say they both run much better if you run them for level 5ish characters than 1-3. They're much more "regional" than "local" in the nature of the quests and the foes involved.

- I would definitely think hard about using that initial scene (of Murder...) as-is, especially to introduce the adventure. That is because the adventure (spoilers?) does not place any focus at all in following up the events of that scene. To me, players are given expectations that simply will not be borne out by the actual following adventure.

I'm being deliberately vague here - please ask for more specifics if I'm not explaining myself properly.

 

[darkbard]

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, I'm aware of the disconnect between the opening scene and many of the later events. In my vision of adapting this, I would replace some of the filler material with sequences that build from that initial scene in a more obvious and integrated fashion. I wouldn't want to replace the set up, for it's the possibilities of political cloak and dagger, various factions vying for power, possible split loyalties among the PCs, etc. that are opened up by the intial assassination that make me think this adventure would work well for a story beginning in Tyr in the aftermath of Kalak's death!

So I guess my questions are (1) do the substitutions I suggest in the inital post seem logical and compelling, or are there alternative options? (2) in keeping the initial set up and the last several stages, the city's chaos and violence culminating with some even further city-shaking event, what have others done or would consider doing to replace the series of uninspiring and tangential events in the middle stages of the adventure?

As to spoilers, I wasn't worrying about spoiling much for an adventure that has been out for several years and was one of the likely scenarios run in many games during the transition from 4E to 5E, but if folks feel otherwise, I can throw a spoiler warning in the first post.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Having run it twice in Baldur's Gate, I think your Dark Sun idea sounds great and your substitutions sound perfect.

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[darkbard]

Having run it twice in Baldur's Gate

Did you make any alterations--in particular cuts or substitutions--from the adventure as published, or did you keep most of the central stages?

 

[Saeviomagy]

I found that my players wanted to actually investigate things (not just the initial scene, but other leads too), and that the adventure was woefully unprepared for that to happen.

This is especially so since much of the adventure is "we hang around until something interesting happens": the players literally have nothing else to do BUT investigate.

My personal advice would be to weave the events around other adventures that you run (preferably things that seem more time critical): MiBG becomes a backdrop that makes the home city seem alive rather than the exclusive focus of the characters.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Did you make any alterations--in particular cuts or substitutions--from the adventure as published, or did you keep most of the central stages?

Yes, but not planned ones. Every cut or addition was based on reacting to what the players did, which NPCs they sided with, and were different in both games. I'd be more specific, but I ran both when it was brand new - so years ago now - and I can't entirely remember what was thr adventure and what was made up.

I CAN tell you that one of the groups had everything they needed to stop thr gunpowder plot and then decided to ignore it and investigate something else... So I had High Hall (I think it's called) go up in a firey mass that rained stones on that half of the city. Cleaning up the mess looking for survivors made them feel satisfyingly guilty. While obviously you won't use gunpowder, you may want to find an equivalent. (Obviously it should be possible to prevent it, though)

I remember that it took me a little while to realize that it seems likely that whatever NPC the players back will wind up the one to go off at the end. Also, with the way some players play (murderously no mercy) it almost makes sense to have THEM become the bbg. Best to try to avoid.

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[darkbard]

This is especially so since much of the adventure is "we hang around until something interesting happens": the players literally have nothing else to do BUT investigate.

This is precisely the scenario I'm looking to avoid! I think that's why I find so many of the intermediate "stages" of the adventure so uninspiring, despite the overall appeal of the adventure.

MiBG becomes a backdrop that makes the home city seem alive rather than the exclusive focus of the characters.

Herein lies the appeal for me: the dynamic city and events beyond the focus of the characters. But I *do* want to involve the characters in meaningful ways in *something*--and I would prefer that something be something integral to the adventure story arc itself, even if I am looking for ways to replace some elements of that story with something more compelling.

But perhaps you're right that another option might be to layer in short adventures beyond the scope of the central narrative itself.

Other thoughts on this, anyone?

 

[darkbard]

While obviously you won't use gunpowder, you may want to find an equivalent. (Obviously it should be possible to prevent it, though)

Yes, I was thinking that a defiling ritual would be more appropriate than gunpowder. But I haven't thought it through completely yet, and I'm not sure how making this substitution might impact the clues leading up to the event.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yes, I was thinking that a defiling ritual would be more appropriate than gunpowder. But I haven't thought it through completely yet, and I'm not sure how making this substitution might impact the clues leading up to the event.

That's what I thought you would do. Not sure how you'd run it, though I suppose gathering some material component for the ritual might do.



Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app